Watch The Bands

Most people spend hours deciding which watch they want to buy but few spare
a thought for the style or origin of the humble watchband. Timepiece manufacturers,
however, see things differently and household names the world over know exactly
why they choose bracelets from Yuen Sang Hardware Co (1988) Ltd.

Yuen Sang has long been one of the industry's most successful component suppliers,
having specialised in making high quality stainless steel watch bracelets since
it was established in 1947.

Acquired in 1988 by the Chuang's Group of Companies, Yuen Sang is committed
to addressing new ideas and markets and building a product range that extends
from simple functional steel-link bracelets to the kind of band that makes or
breaks the look of a high-value watch.

Thanks to the current popularity of leather straps with ornate buckles, the
company has opened a new area in its factory devoted exclusively to producing
the kind of elegant, but functional and resilient, buckles that watch manufacturers
worldwide are now demanding.

"Separate buckles are a new speciality for us," explains marketing
manager Molly Suen. "Leather strap models with diamonds and other stones
have become popular recently, so we have had a lot of orders for buckles for
bracelets, and we're also selling a lot of jewellery-type bracelets to Italian
customers."

The company supplies watch companies in Southeast Asia, the Chinese mainland,
Korea, Japan, Australia, Europe and North and South America.

Like many Hong Kong companies Yuen Sang moved its manufacturing operations to
the mainland in the early 1990s, establishing a factory in Dan Shui near Shenzhen.

The four-storey building, which covers an area of about 65,000 square feet and
employs more than 500 workers, has its own power generator to ensure that production
runs are not affected by electricity cuts.

"The factory has four floors but we only use half that area at the moment,"
Suen reveals. "We can expand easily in the same building should demand
call for it."

The company produces more than 900 different designs, both original and clients'
own creations, which are handled by dedicated departments - folded, semi-solid
and solid bracelets.

According to Suen solid bracelets offer an elegant classical look, semi-solid
bracelets provide good quality at a reduced cost and highly polished folded
bracelets represent an attractive combination of quality and affordable price.

"We normally ask for minimum orders of 500 pieces, which is much lower
than a few years ago when we were asking for 2,000 or 3,000," Suen explains,
adding prices are also lower than in previous years. "First orders usually
take about 40 days but we can do repeat orders where no sample testing or approval
is needed in 25-30 days."

Economically troubled times in recent years have affected the watch business
in Asia and Yuen Sang's profit margins have also been hit by the high cost of
its principal raw material, stainless steel, which it sources from Japan, Taiwan
and Finland.

Demand for watches has been sluggish, but Suen is confident however that 2004
sees the industry on the road to recovery and Yuen Sang correspondingly well
positioned to benefit.

"Last year was the worst for some time, but starting from Chinese New Year
this year, business has been steady," she notes. "Orders keep coming
in and our headache is how to speed up delivery to meet client demand, but I
don't think we are the only company experiencing that difficulty."

Notwithstanding its diversification into the buckle business, she is adamant
that Yuen Sang will continue focusing on what it does best. "Some watch
manufacturers are adding lines of jewellery and we've even had requests for
rings - but it's not what we do," Suen insists. "Demand is rising
once again for our core speciality, with orders of up to 16,000 bracelets for
some customers."

Now Yuen Sang is working towards extending its presence in several of the major
international markets in which it feels it has hitherto been under-represented.
"We'd like to sell more in Europe - they look for quality there and that's
what we deliver," concludes Suen.

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